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Singing: "The Lord's my Shepard I shall not want…."

That's the beautiful 23rd Psalm. Many who experience grief and trauma find comfort in its message of courage and hope. My wish for all of us here today is that we each in our own way find the courage and hope to continue on living in the face of grief and trauma. For life is a gift.

In her Book Necessary Losses, Judith Viorst reminds us that losses are "an inevitable and necessary part of life which create opportunities to grow and change through them." But in the midst of grief or trauma, it is difficult to fathom this in such a clinical way. We must attend to our emotions and hearts first. Sometimes we are often overwhelmed. We seek answers to questions that take patience and time to answer. I know. I too have sought understanding for abuse I experienced in childhood. What were the lessons I needed to experience and why? Trauma can often affect us for a long time. Most of us, thankfully, survive-even heart attacks and cancer. We can overcome loss of loved one (humans or pets) who were our companions on this journey of life. We can overcome powerful adversity. It is amazing!

Yes, we each may experience in our own way the devastation of a tsunami on a small scale where we are swept up in emotions and lose our familiar footholds. But coming here to Eliot may be just the assistance we need. Being surrounded by caring people, hearing a touching song, and listening to our own inner voice in this sanctuary can be the best healing we can provide each other.

While we may not be able to help many who suffer loss and trauma, together in this place we can help each other along the way. For each of us needs to embrace life while we can. Each of us has places to go as so eloquently stated in the poem Birdfoot's Grandpa:

The old man
must have stopped our car
two dozen times to climb out
and gather into his hands
the small toads blinded
by our lights and leaping,
live drops of rain.

The rain was falling,
a mist about his white hair
and I kept saying
you can't save them all,
accept it, get back in
we've got places to go.

But, leathery hands full
of wet brown life
knee deep in the summer
roadside grass,
he just smiled and said
they have places to go to
too.
            --Joseph Bruchac

But now, let us turn from sorrow to celebration! Let us end this journey of sadness and begin a journey back to joy. Let us focus now on life and our gladness to be in the land of the living. Please rise as your are able and join me in our closing words and hymn.

Then please remain seated through our postlude song where we will receive a flower in celebration of life and its beauty. Our joyous song is sung by the wonderful gospel artist Yolanda Adams.